Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif harshly criticized the country's historical alliance with the US in Parliament. He accused Washington of exploiting Pakistan for its strategic interests, particularly in Afghanistan, and then abandoning it.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif delivered a rare and blunt critique of the country’s historical relationship with the United States on the floor of Parliament, sharply accusing Washington of exploiting Islamabad for its strategic interests and then discarding it once those interests were served. Asif’s unusually candid remarks have reignited debate over Pakistan’s foreign policy choices, especially its alignment with the US in conflicts that have shaped regional politics for decades.
Addressing lawmakers, Asif described Pakistan’s alignment with the United States after 1999 — particularly in relation to the wars in Afghanistan — as a strategic miscalculation whose consequences Islamabad continues to bear. Using striking language, he said Pakistan was treated “worse than toilet paper” — used for specific geopolitical purposes and then abandoned. The description reflects mounting frustration within some quarters of Pakistan’s political establishment over the perceived costs of past alliances.
Asif stressed that decisions to support US-led initiatives did not serve Pakistan’s core national interests and instead inflicted deep and lasting damage on the country. According to his remarks, Pakistan entered conflicts driven more by political calculations tied to securing American support than by its own strategic imperatives. He suggested that such decisions ultimately weakened Pakistan’s security, economy and social fabric, leaving long-term instability in their wake.
Related Articles
The defence minister also directly challenged prevailing narratives about Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan, pushing back against the idea that the country’s involvement was motivated by religious duty. He argued that many Pakistanis were mobilised and sent to fight under the banner of jihad, but that such framing was historically misleading and used to justify participation in conflicts not rooted in national interest. Asif pointed to changes in the education system that were introduced to validate these wars, noting that some of those ideological shifts persist today.
Looking back at the post-9/11 period, Asif said Pakistan’s decision to support the US-led war on terror — including turning against the Taliban — ultimately left the country to grapple with prolonged violence, radicalisation, economic strain and social disruption after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. He criticised former military rulers, including Generals Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf, for drawing Pakistan into external wars that brought long-term harm.
Asif’s remarks mark one of the most public critiques by a high-ranking Pakistani official of the country’s US alliances, revealing deep unease about past strategic choices. Analysts say the comments resonate with broader sentiments among some policymakers and citizens who believe Pakistan’s engagement with Washington over the past several decades often prioritized alliance obligations over regional priorities.
The speech has sparked debate within Pakistan and abroad about the future direction of bilateral relations and whether Islamabad should recalibrate its foreign policy to emphasize strategic independence. Critics of Asif’s stance argue that robust engagement with global powers remains essential for Pakistan’s security and economic interests, even as calls for reassessment grow.
